I keep seeing signs telling me to ‘believe’. I am a true believer in the value of labeling!
When spaces are labeled the need to think about where things go is gone. For example, I labeled the shelf in my closet designating spaces for:
Plain Short-Sleeved Shirts
Graphic Short-Sleeved Shirts
Long-Sleeved Shirts
This makes putting my laundry away slightly easier because I don’t have to think about where things go. It also comes in handy if my husband is putting the laundry away.
I also did this in our pencil drawer, where I can be sort of picky. I don’t like having an overflow of pens. I also do not like finding pens that do not work, pencils that are not sharp or don’t have erasers. Every now and then I go through and get rid of old items but keeping them separated helps me know exactly what is where and how much I have. This may seem sort of extreme, but if things get mixed up it is easy to fix and really, if there are pens in the pencil box life goes on!
My son always teases me about our brooms. I was tired of never having a broom where I needed it, when I needed it. So I labeled the brooms: Upstairs Broom, 1st Floor Broom, Basement Broom. The challenge happens at the stairs. If I sweep it from the top the broom ends up at the bottom. If my son catches me he gives me a hard time about having the upstairs broom downstairs. It is funny. (I give him a hard time about wearing pajamas that don’t match. Does it matter? No. But I like to tell him he wears pajamas like a Neanderthal!)
The other place I use labels regularly is the kitchen. Flour. Sugar. Rice (we actually have 3 containers of rice labeled: Rice, More Rice, and Even More Rice.) Using clear containers lets me know exactly how much we have of something. Additionally, if I am putting things away – say a small bag of nuts, I know it goes directly into the canister labeled “Awww….Nuts!” Obviously, I think it great to use labels that make you smile. There is no need to keep them boring!
As you may have seen on the About page on my website, I labeled a bunch of my husband’s tools. I admit that I was just having too much fun with my label maker! I have two Brother Label Makers. One is extremely simple which I use most. The other has more bells and whistles, but takes more time to use. Both print nice, clean labels. Label makers can be purchased at office supply stores and start as low as $20. For basic household use I think the ones in the $40 range work well. And, they make great holiday gifts!!! (And extra cartridges make great stocking stuffers for anyone who has a label maker!)